Bread Pudding Recipe with Lemon Sauce

June 14, 2025

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My Dad’s Old Fashioned Bread Pudding Recipe with Lemon Sauce is incredibly delicious! Fluffy bread with raisins and custard and I top it with a homemade lemon sauce. So good.

Over 15 years ago, my dad shared this simple bread pudding recipe with the family. It remains one of my favorite desserts to this day. Total comfort food!

A slice of bread pudding with raisins and vanilla sauce on a white plate, with more pudding and sauce in the background—an irresistible bread pudding recipe brought to life.

This post for bread pudding with lemon sauce was originally published in April 2011. The photos and recipe notes were updated in June 2025.

Aimee’s Recipe Notes

Taste & Texture: Moist bread pudding with a soft texture, chewy raisins and sweet lemon sauce.

Topping: I love this homemade lemon sauce, but my buttermilk syrup is delicious on this bread pudding as well!

Make in Advance: Assemble as directed and cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours. Allow to sit at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.

Ingredient Swap: swap out the bread and raisins for a thick cinnamon raisin bread instead!

Top Tip: Let your bread get a little stale before using. The bread will soften with the custard to the perfect texture.

Ingredients for Bread Pudding

Overhead view of measured bread pudding recipe ingredients labeled: milk, eggs, bread cubes, raisins, sugar, butter, spices.

Most traditional bread pudding recipes have raisins, vanilla, and a sweet sauce to top it all off. This recipe is different from Instant Pot rice pudding, in case you’re wondering!

And yes, if this makes you think of french toast casserole, it’s very similar!

Here are a few key ingredients, be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for a complete list with measurements.

White Bread- My dad uses cubed white bread, I prefer a brioche or cinnamon raisin bread for more flavor. The key though is to use stale bread when possible!
Eggs- you’ll need eggs for the sweet custard.
Cinnamon & Nutmeg- the perfect duo for this easy bread pudding.
Raisins- of course you can omit them, but if you love oatmeal raisin cookies, you’ll love them in bread pudding too! You could also swap them out for nuts.

How to Make Bread Pudding

Two images: bread cubes and raisins in a bowl on the left, mixed in a baking dish on the right—perfect for starting your favorite bread pudding recipe.

Make the bread base.

If your bread is crazy soft, this dish can get pretty mushy (it’s already a soft custard texture). To firm up fresh bread, bake for about 5 minutes in a 375 degree F oven. Mix with melted butter, cinnamon, and raisins.
Spread bread mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish.

Left: Beaten eggs in a glass bowl with a mixer. Right: Bread pudding recipe mixture in a white baking dish.

Mix the custard.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Add milk and whisk together.
Pour over bread cubes. Sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg. Bake in 375 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned.

A slice of bread pudding from our delicious bread pudding recipe sits on a plate, rich sauce being poured over it, with more slices tempting in the background.

While baking, make the lemon sauce.

In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, butter, water, egg, and lemon juice over medium high heat.
Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil one full minute. Remove from heat.
To serve, drizzle lemon glaze over the warm bread pudding.